Change in the Dark
by Aris1013
Summary: When the rangers find Heckyl hurt in the woods and split from Snide, they bring him back to the base to get answers. What they get is beyond what any of them expected. Now they must work to fight evil while trying to decide if they can trust Heckyl, or if it is all just a clever trap.
1. Suspicious Happenings

**AN: This is my own version of how Heckyl combined with Snide and the events that took place after. This is slightly AU. Enjoy!**

000000000

The warm breeze rustled the leaves as the rangers walked through the forest to train. Noticing something down the path, Sir Ivan stopped alarming the others.

"Ivan?" Shelby looked at him.

"Is that figure whom I think it is?"

The rangers followed Ivan's eye line to someone lying on the ground ahead of them. They all rushed over to the man, but stopped once they confirmed his identity.

"Heckyl?" Riley looked up at the others.

Koda looked around. "Is this trick?" He poked him with his foot, but Heckyl remained still.

"I think he may actually be hurt." Chase did not want to inspect more than from where he stood, but it was plain to see that Heckyl had been in a fight and was not in the best of shape.

Shelby looked at Chase before inching towards Heckyl and kneeling down next to him.

"Be careful." Tyler was ready to jump in if it were a trap.

"Guys look." Shelby tilted Heckyl's head to the side exposing his neck. "The symbol is gone."

"Does that mean Snide split them apart?" Chase did not like the thought of that.

"Great, now that's one more thing to worry about." Tyler did not like that either.

"They must have used the split-o-meter on themselves, but why?" Riley was trying to piece everything together.

"Guys we can worry about that later. Right now he needs our help." Shelby was beginning to worry about the state he was in.

"Right." Tyler got his communicator out to call Ms. Morgan.

After Tyler told her what happened, she met them in the woods. "Has he stirred at all?" She felt for Heckyl's pulse.

"No, nothing." Shelby answered.

Kendall sighed. "He's really weak." She took off her glasses. "I hate to say this, but I think we need to take him back to the base.

Everyone began argue this, but Kendall put her hand up to stop them all from talking. "It's the only place we can properly treat and analyze him. We'll restrain him, make sure he can't trick us or anything, but it's the only choice I see right now."

"We could just leave him here." Chase said what the others would not.

"Chase," Kendall gave him a look. "We can't just leave him here. If they did this to him, then something has changed and we need to know what that is. Helping him will help us."

"She has a good point there." Riley looked at the Black Ranger.

"Come, Sir Tyler, help me get him up." Ivan stepped in to help get Heckyl and bring him to the base. All of them wondered if they were making the right choice, or setting themselves up for a trap.

When they got to the base they restrained Heckyl to a bed. Riley worked on setting up energy beams in case Heckyl woke up and tried to escape. If he broke the restraints he would be hit with the blast. Once everything was secure, Kendall got to work looking Heckyl over. He was in pretty bad shape. He had a lot of bruising and cuts all over him, he was definitely in a fight, and by the looks of it he had barely made it out. Once Kendell was done patching him up the best she could, she, and the others left him to rest. They could not do anything until he awoke, so now all they could do was wait.

Hours had passed and everyone was busy doing something inside the cave. Koda was first to hear a noise come from the back room where Heckyl was. Once they all realized he was awake they rushed in.

Heckyl began to open his eyes and try to move. He soon found himself restrained. He thought Snide had found him, but when he opened his eyes all the way, he found himself somewhere else. Confusion set in as to his whereabouts until the rangers came in. Once he pieced it all together he laughed.

None of the rangers were sure what to do. Heckyl had always been dramatic, but they thought that maybe he had finally gone off the deep end.

"It's funny." Heckyl continued to laugh. "I've been trying to find this place for so long, and now that I don't care, here I am!"

"Why don't you care anymore? What happened to you?" Kendall wanted answers, and she wanted them now.

Heckyl stopped laughing and cleared his throat. "Lord Arcanon came and ruined everything. Snide betrayed me and split us apart. He tried destroying me, but everyone underestimates the alien that looks human. We fought, and I escaped. They think I'm weak, but I will make them pay for what they did." Anger flashed across his eyes.

"He has the dark energem doesn't he?" Shelby looked worried.

Heckyl nodded.

"You touched it didn't you? That's why you and Snide combined." Shelby was piecing together what had happened to Heckyl.

Heckyl snickered. "You could say that. My tale is a dark one stretching almost a million years ago."

Kendall sat down. "Will you tell it?"

Heckyl looked away. He had not thought about the details of his past in a long time. Every time he was reminded of then, he pushed the memories aside. Snide was the only living creature that knew about his life and now there was a group of people staring at him, wanting to understand.

"I was a part of a group on Sentai 6 that worked to protect the dark energem."

Heckyl saw the looks on the rangers' faces and laughed. "Don't get the wrong idea about me. I've never been one of the good guys. We wanted its power, but so did a lot of others. We wanted to make sure no one else got their hands on it. Snide attacked our planet, but my people were able to trap him inside the energem. It was not long after that when Lord Arcanon came and decimated my home."

Anger flared in Heckyl's eyes.

"I watched as my world burned. My friends and family killed around me while I managed to survive. I escaped with a few others, and started to rebuild what I could. I wanted to restore my home, but to do that I needed more power. We thought the dark energem was destroyed, so we left, and I did what I could to gain control of others. I've always been good at manipulation, and pretty soon I was on top of a crime ring. I thought if I could gain control of another planet, then I could help my own. I may have gotten carried away, because pretty soon I got caught, but it wasn't by law enforcement, it was something a lot worse." Heckyl's eyes went distant, remembering what happened all those years ago.

 _Flashback_

"Sir, we may have found the perfect candidate for our project." A woman stood with a clipboard in hand.

A man turned away from the paper he was reading to see what the doctor had to say. The doctor pulled up a file on a large computer screen.

"His name is Heckyl. He escaped Sentai 6 when it was destroyed. He was part of a group trying to protect the dark energem."

"That's irony for you." The man laughed. "Is he strong enough for something like this?"

The doctor smiled. "We'll know for sure after he's tested, but he's a convict who wiggled his way to the top of a crime organization by manipulating and hurting anything in his way. We believe he, like others from his planet, has strong abilities. He should be perfect to hold this kind of power."

The man nodded. "Good, test him. If he survives we'll continue onto the next phase."

"Right away, sir." The doctor nodded and left the room.

"Why you?" Tyler could not believe the story Heckyl was telling.

Heckyl sighed. "They needed a catalyst. Snide was trapped inside the dark energem. If my body could handle his power then they would use me."

"What did they do to you?" Riley almost kept that question to himself.

Heckyl's dark blue eyes looked haunted when Riley asked that. "For the next several days they put me threw vigorous physical tests. Conditioning that would kill most people, but I'm not human, and my arrogance gave me the will to get through it. I knew survival was my only escape. Extreme heat, cold, lack of oxygen, electricity; I was put through just about every torture a person could think up. And I passed with flying colors. I almost gave up a few times, let them kill me, but I held on." He thought back to that day.

The people torturing him for the last three days hauled him up and took him to another room. Heckyl kept his composure the entire time, despite how tired and in pain he was.

"Don't look so angry, Heckyl. We're about to bestow the ultimate gift upon you."

"You mean use my body to bring back a monster. Sounds so pleasant." Heckyl scoffed.

The man nodded to the others who came over. They were holding the dark energem on a long pair of tongs. Heckyl struggled as large hands held him still. One man pulled his hair, causing his head to tilt, exposing his neck. They pressed the energem to his neck and Heckyl's world exploded.

There was so much pain Heckyl could not bear it any longer. He screamed out as a blue light engulfed him, and he was replaced with Snide. Snide screamed as the blue energy came back and Heckyl was there again. He was holding his neck in pain as it glowed. The others in the room noticed the permeant blue streak in his hair and symbol branded onto his neck. Heckyl screamed again as he was replaced with Snide once more. Snide sighed and let go of his neck.

"Ah, he's a fighter this one."

The man in charge was hopeful. "Do you approve Master Snide?"

"Oh yes." Snide got up. I think he will work out excellent."

Before Snide could take another step he yelled again and Heckyl was there.

"What have you done to me?" He screamed again. Snide was back.

"My turn now boy." He looked at the man and doctor. "I need some time alone with this one." Snide left heading towards the cell they had kept Heckyl in.

Shelby stared with wide eyes. "That sounds terrible."

Heckyl got that haunted look again. "Everything up to that point was nothing compared to what was to come. I never thought it could get worse, but I was wrong."

00000000

 **AN: Thanks for reading!**


	2. Dark Times

**Thank you K.J Bollinger and Writing Therapist for reviewing!**

00000000

Heckyl continued his story to the rangers that were gathered around the bed he was bound too. All of them seemed enthralled in how he became bound to Snide.

"Snide needed to gain control of me. I was a fighter and so was he. He spent days getting into my head, picking apart every thought and memory I ever had. He drove me to insanity with his constant talking in my head. He confused me, changed my memories; made me relive things. I was losing myself, but I knew I couldn't give up. Finally I couldn't take it anymore, and one day, I snapped." Heckyl could not look them in the eyes now.

"What you do?" Koda wanted to know what happened.

"Like I said, everyone underestimates me. Even Snide. He pushed me over the edge. I'd be lying if I said I remembered exactly what happened, but I remember yelling and releasing all my energy at once. The doors blasted open and people started screaming. Snide called for me to stop, but I couldn't. I just kept going until the screams stopped, and the building went completely quiet."

The rangers all stared, listening to the story as Heckyl continued.

"I needed to become the dominant one, I couldn't let Snide be in my head any longer. I went to the building's lab and began working. I used to be good at fixing things, understanding how they functioned. I spent hours in there until I made that." He motioned to the pocket watch in his vest. "I used my powers and those the dark energem gave me to make it work. Snide could still hear and see the same things as me most of the time, but my thoughts were my own, and he was no longer in my head. No more peeking inside my mind. Eventually his sword did the same thing for him."

Heckyl's face went somber again.

"I remember that blissful silence after Snide got out of my head. I slid down the wall and finally registered what I had done. I hadn't even noticed until then; all the bodies. Every person in that place was decimated by my anger. There was a time in my life I would have felt guilty for what I had done, but at the time it felt liberating. I left that place in search of power and destruction, leaving the energem behind. I began a reign of power that struck fear into everyone I came across. I destroyed galaxies piece by piece until there was hardly anything left. I was on top, with Snide's help of course. That was until Sledge came along."

The rangers could not believe the story Heckyl was telling. They stared in horror as Heckyl finished his tale.

"As you can imagine, the bounty on my head was one of the highest. Sledge stopped at nothing to capture me. I was able to take out half of his fleet, but then he caught me off guard. Snide had taken over, he was a good fighter, but he didn't have the power I had. Sledge's forces almost destroyed him, us. I thought we were finished until they placed chains on us and threw me in solitary. That tiny chamber stifled my power. It was a dark and dismal cell that I would spend the next several hundred years in. If I were truly alone it would have been bearable, but with Snide there I was driven even more mad." He laughed. "But then one day a light lit in me. I overheard Sledge talking about the energems. From then on I began to plan my new reign. It kept me going, and well…I suppose you know the rest don't you."

"That's quite a story." Kendall was trying to process it all.

"A lot can happen when you're as old as me." Heckyl looked at all the rangers. "There's something else you should know."

"What's that?" Chase asked.

"When you all destroyed Sledge's ship, you didn't destroy Sledge. He's the one who let me out, let me take over while he went off to complete his master plan. He's going to release Greenzilla monsters all over the world, he's going to use them to destroy you and your planet, and then steal the energems."

Riley shut his eyes and shook his head. "Why would you tell us that, or any of this? Why tell us the truth when you said yourself you manipulate people."

"Sledge locked me up for centuries. I want to see him destroyed as much as you do. He would try to get rid of me as soon as your planet is destroyed, and honestly that's not something I want to see. Enough planets have been destroyed because of those energems, because of me. I'm tired. If I can help you, I will."

"Where is Sledge going to release the Greenzilla monsters?" Kendall needed information now.

"They're eggs. He's waiting for them to hatch. He's been all over the world. New York, Japan, China, Hawaii, and here. I don't know the exact locations, but if you can find them and destroy them before they hatch, you could save your people."

Kendall looked at Heckyl and then at the others. "Come on." She got up. "Heckyl should rest, he's still really weak." She left the room and the others followed behind her.

Once alone, Heckyl took a good look at the room he was in. He knew that if he broke his restraints he would get zapped by a trap they had set up. He could risk trying to get away, but Kendall was right he was still weak, and if he were honest he had not where to go anyway. Heckyl shut his eyes; his mind was reeling with thoughts of his past.

00000000

"Are we seriously trusting him?" Tyler wasted no time in asking.

"If Sledge was never destroyed then we have a lot more to worry about." Shelby hoped Sledge would not join forces with Arcanon.

"Look right now we have no reason to believe Heckyl is lying. He has nothing to gain from this. Telling us about the eggs could be a trap, but why tell us at all? For now I think we should believe what he says, but not act on anything until we have more to go on. Remember he manipulates, him telling us his story could be a way to try and get us to trust him." Kendall was worried that was the case.

"Fine, we'll believe him, but we need to be on our toes around him." Tyler looked at the others who agreed.

The rangers had placed Heckyl in the farthest corner of the base as possible. He was on the other side of a wall where he could not see, or hear anything else going on in the lab. This was great for the rangers because Heckyl could not eavesdrop on their plans, but bad for him because all he had was time to think. It had been a long time since he had all of his thoughts to himself, and it was beginning to catch up to him.

Tyler was walking by when he heard a strange noise coming from the back room where they were keeping Heckyl. He walked towards the entryway, but stopped before going all the way in.

"Heckyl?"

Heckyl sniffled and turned his head so Tyler could not see his face. "What?" His voice cracked so he coughed to clear his throat. "What?"

Tyler stepped into the area. "Are you…were you crying?" Tyler had never seen someone he thought of as a villain show any vulnerability before.

Unable to wipe the tears from his eyes do to the restraints, Heckyl could not hide the obvious. "It's been a long time since I've been on my own like this."

Tyler sat down in the chair next to Heckyl's bed. "You don't miss Snide do you?" He was unsure what exactly Heckyl meant.

"Oh definitely not, he was a pain in my neck; quite literally. No I was just thinking about how I've been a criminal my entire life, but I've spent most of it in a cell." Heckyl sighed. "I don't want to be a hero, a good guy, but I'm just so tired of being someone else's prisoner."

Tyler was did not know what to say. Heckyl was right, not that he did not do it to himself, but spending hundreds of years in solitary with an evil monster in his head had to take its toll. Heckyl shut his eyes, opening them a few times until Tyler watched as he fell asleep. He left the room feeling strange. He did not like seeing Heckyl like that.

There had been constant discussion as to what to do to the newest guest of the ranger base. Everyone had something to say on the subject.

"I think he's telling us the truth." Tyler looked at the others.

Shelby nodded. "I have to agree, he just seems broken."

"It could still be part of his plan."

Riley nodded. "Chase is right, we could be falling straight into his trap."

"Couldn't he help find eggs?" Koda was trying to see the positive.

"Possibly, but there is no telling what his true intentions are." Ivan scratched his chin.

"Look everyone, whether we trust him or not is one thing, but he's getting better and we can't just keep him tied up forever. We have to decide what we're going to do." Kendall wanted everyone to agree on something.

Heckyl was asleep when the others came in, in fact he was right in the middle of a nightmare. He had them before, but ever since Snide split them apart, they had been coming more frequently.

"Heckyl."

"No…" Heckyl was breathing hard in a cold sweat.

"Someone should wake him up." Chase looked at the others.

Shelby shoved Chase a little towards Heckyl.

Chase sighed and shook Heckyl. "Hey, wake up!"

Heckyl shot up, his eyes flashing blue for a moment, causing everyone in the room to flinch back. He was confused as to where he was at first, but then he remembered and caught his breath and looked at everyone staring at him.

"Come to destroy me then?"

Kendall cleared her throat. "The opposite actually. Against my better judgement, we've decided to untie you."

"Why would you do that after everything I've done to you?" Heckyl was not sure what they were thinking.

"Because you know more about who we're fighting than anyone, and you're not much use to us if you're stuck in a bed." Kendall hesitantly walked over to Heckyl's bed and undid the restraints.

As soon as the restraints were undone, Heckyl sat up and rubbed his wrists. He was still really weak, but it felt good to move again.

"Thank you."

They all knew that was not just a thank you for untying Heckyl, but for saving him as well.

"Just remember that if you try any unlawful act, we shan't hesitate to eradicate you." Sir Ivan gave him a stern look.

Heckyl nodded. "I know none of you trust me. I wouldn't either, but right now we all want the same thing, and I will not stop until justice is served."

Kendall took a step forward. "Now that you're up, I need to run some more tests."

The others took that as their cue to leave the room and let Kendall check Heckyl over.

"You're gaining your strength back rather quickly."

"I've always healed fast." Heckyl felt uncomfortable being so cordial with the Purple Ranger.

"What else can you do?" Kendall wanted to know the extent of Heckyl's power.

Heckyl smirked and let energy flow through his fingers. "Quite a lot actually."

Kendall reared back a little.

Heckyl noticed and stopped. "Not to worry pretty lady, I have no interest in hurting you."

"I'm not afraid of you."

Heckyl laughed. "Everyone is afraid of me."

00000000

 **AN: Thanks for reading!**


	3. Ideas

**Thank you Writing Therapist and Crystal for reviewing!**

000000000

Even though the rangers freed Heckyl from his restraints, he knew he was not a free man by any means. He knew if he tried to leave they would stop him, and even if he wanted to leave, he was still weaker than he liked to be; Snide almost killed him. He also knew he needed to gain the rangers' trust if they were ever going to let him help defeat the enemy. Knowing that, Heckyl mostly stayed in the area they had kept him in. They would grow suspicious if he began to wander and look at anything in the base. He spent most of his time thinking up ways to destroy Snide. He also could not stop the memories of his past flooding in; that he did not care for.

Ivan decided to peek in at where Heckyl was in the base when he noticed the man staring at his pocket watch. At first he thought they had all been fooled, and that Heckyl was strategizing with Snide, but upon approach he saw that there was nothing in the watch. No Snide, no nothing, just a blank spot where Snide had inhabited.

"Worried he'll try and put you two together again?"

Heckyl looked up in surprise. He had no idea Sir Ivan had even entered the room. "I keep feeling that pain shoot up my neck like he's going to be there. I have to keep reassuring myself that he's really gone. He should be weaker now without me, but I suppose I'm not as strong either."

Ivan sat down next to Heckyl. "I remember what it was like, that feeling of being trapped in another's body. The pain, the distance; the fear that it will reoccur once again. You are free from him now. Your path is yours to create."

Heckyl looked at him, but said nothing. Everyone was being so nice to him after everything he had done. He did not know what to do anymore. Heckyl had been bad his entire life, Snide made him more so, but now he was stuck in the middle, and he felt lost.

The rangers were in and out; living their lives and fighting whatever monsters Snide and Arcanon were throwing at them. They rarely told Heckyl what was going on, though he only asked about Snide and what he was up to. Heckyl often worried Snide would track him down. Heckyl felt useless at the base, and he hated that feeling. He also hated that someone always stayed behind to keep an eye on him. This time it was Koda who was left in the base. Heckyl was getting restless, so he decided to stretch his legs; his eyes pulled towards the blue energem wedged between its crystal base. He walked up to it, and was enthralled.

"What you doing?" Koda was standing behind him.

"Not what you think." Heckyl continued to stare at the energem. "I've had plenty of chances to get your energems. No, I was just thinking."

"What you thinking?" Koda walked next to him.

Heckyl sighed a little. "The dark energem is extremely powerful. I can feel its pull on me. It's the negative of all the good energems, so I wonder what would happen if someone bonded to the dark energem was hit with an energy blast by it while having all the other gems in their possession."

"They be destroyed." Koda was trying to follow.

"Yes, but so would anyone nearby I bet, including whomever had their hands on the dark energem."

Koda was understanding now. "You bonded with dark energem. Energems would reject dark force, and make huge power surge."

Heckyl faced him. "It's all irrelevant anyway isn't it? I'd never be able to test that theory."

"Why you let you die?"

Heckyl sighed. "All I want now is Snide and the others destroyed. I don't care if that means I go down with them."

Koda was trying to decide if Heckyl meant that or not.

The rangers had been working on tracking down the eggs hidden all over the world by Sledge. At first they were hesitant to ask Heckyl for help, but in the end they caved and were able to get valuable information.

"All of the Greenzilla monsters emit a specific type of radioactive material. If we, you, can figure out exactly what type of radiation it is, you should be able to build a tracker for it." Heckyl was not sure why he was helping them. He wanted Sledge and the others destroyed, but he did not exactly want the rangers to come out on top either. Most of all though, he did not want to see another planet destroyed; too many had been lost, and now it was time for all the madness to stop.

Kendall thought about his words. "That could work. We can search the grid of Amber Beach for radiation levels, it should be strong so once we find the egg here, the others should be easier."

Kendall went to a computer and began working. Riley came over and helped her. Shelby smiled a little at Heckyl, who gave half a nod in return. The rangers all began working on tracking down the eggs, while Heckyl retreated back to his corner. He was not sure what to do anymore, he felt so lost.

When the rangers were called off to a fight, Heckyl would watch. He would watch Snide try to destroy them and lose, and he would watch the monsters Lord Arcanon sent down. He watched Snide act out some of the plans he had intended for the rangers with poorer execution. It angered Heckyl to see Snide still using him in a way. Heckyl wished he could leave and fight, helping or not, but the rangers would never allow that.

Heckyl thought about any weaknesses Snide and the other monsters had. If he knew the rangers needed a lot of help he would tell them, but sometimes he would just watch the rangers suffer to see if they could beat the monsters on their own. Part of him also took note of the rangers fighting abilities. If he ever wanted to fight them again, he would have a better chance. Heckyl spent a lot of time thinking about that. He did owe the rangers for saving him after Snide had almost destroyed him, but he thought about how easy it would be to try and take them down now. He still could not go back to the ship, because Snide and the others would destroy him, but he could go after the rangers. They had been nice to him though, even after everything he had done to them and anyone else he had ever come across. Heckyl had never been around nice people, so he was not sure how to act around them. Hurting nice people would not help out anyone. Heckyl did know a few things; he knew he wanted Snide destroyed, he knew he wanted the Earth to not get destroyed, and he knew nice people did not deserve to be destroyed. Heckyl needed to decide if he was going to be in this fight with the rangers, or if he was just going to stand aside and help out here and there. If they were going to do everything Heckyl wanted done, then he needed to stop sitting around and watching, he needed to help.

Heckyl spent the next several hours devising a way to help. When the rangers came back from working at the museum he handed them a notebook.

Tyler took it. "What's this?"

Heckyl looked him in the eye. "Every plan I thought of to destroy you. Snide has already tried a few of them, but I spent a lot of time on strategy. I know he'll try some of these, so I wanted to give you a forewarning just in case."

Chase seemed skeptical. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm tired of sitting around doing nothing. I'm here watching everything, so I may as well help out. Read them if you want, but you don't have to."

Shelby took the notebook from Tyler and opened it. "This has lists of monster powers and weaknesses." She showed the others.

"I spent a long time in that place, I know who can do what and what can hurt them. Like I said you don't have to use it, but I think it may come in handy." Heckyl went to his little cubby of a room.

"Thank you." Koda was not sure the man heard him.

Although Chase was skeptical of Heckyl wanting to help them, the other rangers took turns reading the notebook he had given them. They figured it could not harm anything to read what he wrote down. Even if he gave them wrong information, the rangers were confident it would not hurt them in battle.

Chase's skepticism lessened when they were fighting against one of the monsters in Heckyl's notebook. It had the power to make everything the rangers say sounds like gibberish. None of them could understand what the other was saying, but Riley remembered reading about this monster in the notebook. His weakness was high pitched noises, so Riley began to whistle and soon the others joined in. He was so disoriented the rangers were able to destroy him. When they got back to the lab, Chase walked up to Heckyl.

"I think we would have been lost out there today if you hadn't told us about that guy."

Heckyl nodded. "I don't want to feel useless anymore."

"So you won't." Kendall came over with the device they were working on for the eggs.

Heckyl walked over to her where she sat the device down.

"You can help me finish this thing."

Heckyl looked at the others, and then at Kendall. "What do you need me to do?"

"I think you may be able to use your power to boot this thing up, it may be just what it needs to begin working properly."

He looked at the device. "I don't want to fry it."

Shelby came over. "You've had almost a million years to perfect your powers haven't you?"

Heckyl shrugged. "Well, I mostly spent that time making sure I could decimate anything I could with them, but a low blast shouldn't be too tricky."

"You can do it." Shelby smiled.

Heckyl reached out to the device and concentrated on the energy flowing through his body. He just needed a little tap to get the machine working. He let a small spark hit the machine and it booted up.

"It worked!" Kendall began messing with it to get it set to find all of the eggs.

Riley stepped in to help her.

"See, told you, you could do it." Shelby looked at Heckyl.

"Thanks." Heckyl was not sure if that was a genuine thanks or not, but he was trying. They were getting one step closer to destroying Sledge and the others. He let the others work as he retreated back to his room. He wanted to check his wounds and see how they were coming along. Heckyl knew most of the damage had healed, but he lifted up his shirt to see his sides were still in rough shape. Heckyl's mind went to his last battle with Snide.

He had escaped from his cell thanks to Poisandra. His plan was to leave, but the explosion in the cell had alerted quite a lot of monsters on the ship. Heckyl had easily taken out all the vivix that came after him, but he was stopped by Snide before he could get out of the ship.

"Always trying to weasel your way out." Snide stared Heckyl down.

Heckyl said nothing, but stood his ground ready to send out an energy bolt.

Snide pulled out his sword and swung it at Heckyl, who dodged it. He in turn sent an energy bolt, but Snide deflected it with his sword. Heckyl was able to get a hard kick in Snide's chest, but now more monsters were on their way in. Heckyl was trying to fight off a few of the monsters when he was caught off guard by Snide's vine. It rapped about Heckyl's side, digging into him He yelled out as he was thrown from side to side of the room. Hit after hit came, and Heckyl could feel the blood running down his face. He could barely breathe, but Heckyl knew he could not let Snide take him out like that. Heckyl conjured up all the energy he could and sent it all towards Snide. The blue monster dropped Heckyl and in seconds Snide spent recovering he ran. Heckyl pushed an emergency shut down button on his way out the door to try and slow them down.

Although Heckyl was in pain, he knew he had to run. The man did not stop as the branches tore at his clothes and face. Heckyl did not stop until he physically could not go anymore. Heckyl collapsed to the forest floor and tried to catch his breath. He was not sure if Snide and the others followed him, but he hoped if they had he had gotten far enough away that they would not find him. Heckyl could not seem to bring his body back to normal. His breaths were coming in shorter spurts, and his vision began to blur. The last thing Heckyl remembered was the lightheaded feeling before his world faded away. The next thing he remembered was waking up in the ranger base.

That seemed like ages ago, even for an immortal. Heckyl hated all this time he had to think now. Being the only one in his head led to terrible thoughts full of painful memories. Heckyl laid down on his bed and tried to get some sleep, he needed to try and forget for a while. Even if it was only for a few hours.

00000000

 **AN: Thanks for reading!**


	4. Trust

**Thank you Writing Therapist and M. for reviewing!**

000000000

The rangers left Heckyl alone in the base. They had actually let him be there without anyone watching him, or pretending like they had to stay behind to do something important. Heckyl felt like the rangers were trusting him, which he was not sure if that was the best idea or not. While half of the rangers were out tracking the eggs, the other half had to go fight a monster in the city. That did not leave them with much of a choice, but no matter how bad their battles had been since Heckyl was brought there, they always left someone behind to keep an eye on him.

He thought about leaving, but Heckyl knew he had nowhere to go. He also thought about just going upstairs to the dinosaur museum to get some air, and stretch his legs, but Heckyl found himself staying put. He was not sure what happened in the time since his fight with Snide, but he was starting to feel like one of the good guys.

In his time alone in the cave, Heckyl did find himself checking in on the rangers to see how they were coming along tracking the eggs. They had found most of them, but Heckyl knew that those eggs would hatch soon. He had a bad feeling that the rangers would not be able to destroy all of the eggs before they hatched. Something in that moment dawned on him; that was all part of the plan. Snide and Sledge would know that too. They would have to know the rangers would be distracted fighting at least one Greenzilla monster, which meant Amber Beach would be left vulnerable. As soon as any of the eggs hatched, they would attack with everything they had. Sledge and Snide would win. Lord Arcanon would win. The world would be theirs.

As soon as the rangers got back to the base Heckyl ran up to Kendall. "It's part of their plan. All this is part of their plan."

"Hey, slow down, what are you talking about?" Kendall put her hand up to stop Heckyl.

"Why haven't they used the dark energem yet? They have it, but they've barely made a dent with its power. They're waiting. There is still a Greenzilla monster about hatch, when it does, I think they are going to attack with everything they have. Sledge would know you guys have destroyed those eggs, so I think he's going to attack you when it hatches, and leave Amber Beach open to get destroyed."

Tyler stared at Heckyl. "He's right, they have all this power, but haven't used it yet. They're tiring us down just to attack us at full force."

"So what can we do?" Shelby looked at Tyler.

Koda perked up and stared at Heckyl. "You have idea with energems."

Heckyl shook his head. "Everyone would have to trust me completely, and that is never going to happen."

"What's your theory?" Riley wanted to know what they were talking about.

"The dark energem was created from all the negative energy from your energems. I think if the two power sources collided while someone bonded to the dark energem had all of the energems with them, it would create a sort of rift, possibly an energy blast big enough to take out anything around."

Kendall thought about this for a moment. "The energems hold a lot of power, and the dark energem almost contends to them. The energies would cancel each other out, not destroying the gems themselves, but yeah…I think it could send out enough energy to destroy anything that isn't a gem."

"Wouldn't that kill you, though?" Tyler looked at Heckyl.

"Yes, it probably would."

"You would be willing to sacrifice yourself to save humanity?" Sir Ivan questioned.

Heckyl shrugged. "I've been here a long time, and no the thought of death is not thrilling, but I think I'm doomed either way. I'd rather go down fighting Snide and the others than getting captured by them again, but none of this matters anyway." He walked away from them a little. "None of you would let me have your energems so that theory is pointless."

"Unless we trust you." Kendall walked up to him and grabbed his hand. She motioned for her energem and then placed it in his hand.

Heckyl looked at it confused.

Kendall looked him in the eye. "I trust you."

Sir Ivan stepped next and gave his energem up as well. "We have all done things we regret. I believe we are all capable of change."

One by one the rest of the rangers gave their energems to Heckyl. In the end only Shelby and Tyler remained.

Shelby sighed. "I think people can change too, but you've tried so long to get these. I wouldn't put it past you to try something this elaborate."

"I can't watch this planet get destroyed too, especially not for these." He held out the energems already in his hand.

Shelby thought for a moment before handing her energem over. "Okay."

Tyler looked at the others. "We're a team, and if all of you trust him, then I will too." Tyler gave his energem to Heckyl.

Heckyl stared at all ten energems in his hands. He never thought he would get this moment. He looked at the rangers in front of him. "Thank you. I won't let you down."

"We're counting on you." Kendall nodded at him. "Now let's figure out our plan."

"Right." Heckyl walked over to the center of the room and set the energems on the table. "Sledge is going to attack when that last Greenzilla monster hatches, which will be any time now. While you are all off fighting him, Arcanon and Snide will try and destroy everything here. What they won't expect is me. You should have enough stored power from your energems to last until you un-morph right?"

"Yeah, leaving you time to take out Arcanon while we get rid of Sledge." Riley was figuring out the plan.

"How can we be sure Arcanon will have the dark energem. Why not just give it to Sledge to use?" Shelby was not sure if it would all be as easy as it sounded.

"Lord Arcanon would never let the dark energem out of his sight. He'll have it." Heckyl was sure this would work.

"We take out Sledge, and you take out Arcanon while he thinks you're just out for revenge." Tyler smiled. "I think that will work."

Kendall nodded. "Okay, let's go over the plan a few more times to make sure we get everything covered. We won't have room for error on this."

The rangers agreed, but before they could discuss further, the alarms went off.

"I think it's too late for that." Chase looked at the computer. "The plan is now."

"A Greenzilla monster is attacking in China. It's the last egg; Sledge will no doubt come as soon as we get there." Riley looked at the others.

"All right, Riley, Tyler, Shelby, Chase and Koda will go first. When Sledge attacks, the rest of us will come help, leaving Heckyl to go on with his plan. Which hopefully works." Kendall gave out the orders.

"It'll work. I won't let you down." Heckyl gave them the reassurance they needed before leaving the base to go take care of the monster.

The first wave of rangers left to fight the Greenzilla monster, and like they predicted as soon as they got to China Sledge showed up. That was Heckyl's cue to leave the base and find Arcanon. Kendall and the other remaining rangers headed to help the rangers fighting in China. As Heckyl left the base and headed towards the woods, he took a moment to breathe in the fresh air. He had been held in the base for a while, and this was the first time he had been outside. Not that he was not used to being confined for long periods of time, but it was always nice to leave. Once Heckyl got to the woods his mind went back to the mission at hand. He knew where the ship was, so finding it would not be difficult. The whole time he walked, Heckyl kept his hands in his pockets. He could not stop checking to make sure the energems were all still there.

Heckyl stopped and thought about what he was about to do. He had all the energems. Every single one in his pockets. The ultimate power. The thing he had been searching for, for a long time. That's all he ever wanted. He wanted to rule the universe. He wanted power. He wanted freedom. Heckyl knew he could easily walk onto the ship, show Arcanon some of the energems, and strike a deal with him. With that kind of power he would have protection from Snide. They would never lock him up again. Heckyl could help destroy the planet. Destroy this planet just like the ones he had destroyed before. Like his own planet had been destroyed. Heckyl was so deep in thought he had not even realized he reached where the ship was cloaked. This was it, he had to make a decision. Destroy Arcanon and die to save the Earth, or join him and let everyone else die so he could live.

Heckyl had made his decision.

"Lord Arcanon, come out!"

00000000

 **AN: Thanks for reading!**


	5. Battles

**Thank you Writing Therapist and M. for reviewing! And a special thanks for Writing Therapist for reviewing every chapter! You rock!**

 **AN: This is the last chapter, enjoy!**

000000000

This was it. Heckyl had to make a choice. Destroy Earth, or try to save it. Lord Arcanon and the other crew came out of the ship. Arcanon laughed when he saw Heckyl standing before him.

"Heckyl, I thought you were out hiding in the woods. Come to beg to get your spot in solitary back?"

Heckyl glared. "Not exactly."

Arcanon growled a little. "I don't have time for games."

Heckyl spoke before the vivix could attack. "I'm not playing games. I have something for you."

"What could you possibly have that I want?" Arcanon was getting bored with this.

Heckyl took his hands out of his pockets revealing a large energy blast that he sent straight to Arcanon. Snide, however, saw this coming and deflected the blast with his sword. Before Heckyl could move out of the way, he was hit with his own energy in the arm, sending him through the air. He hit the ground hard, and looked back up at the monster that trapped him for so long.

Snide glared. "How dare you come back here and try to destroy Lord Arcanon!"

Heckyl struggled to get up, holding his arm. "I won't let you destroy another planet."

"Don't pretend your innocent in this." Snide laughed. "You've destroyed more galaxies than any of us put together. You crave power Heckyl. Terrible tragedies have been caused by your hands alone, so don't act like you're above us."

"You're right, we've all done terrible things, myself included, and now is time for us all to pay for what we've done." Heckyl sent another energy blast out, this time at Snide. He needed to subdue him before he could get to Arcanon.

Snide tried deflecting the energy blast, but he was hit, sending him to the ground. Snide growled in anger and charged at Heckyl who dodged out of the way before Snide could hit him with his sword. Heckyl had spent thousands of years attached to Snide, he knew every move the creature had, but that also went the other way. Heckyl knew that if he was going to win this fight, he would have to do something Snide would not think of. Heckyl scanned the area, they were in a clearing, but there were a few trees hanging over head. After dodging more of Snide's attacks, Heckyl sent an energy bolt at a large branch above. Snide thought Heckyl missed until the branch tumbled down on him. Snide used his sword to throw the tree branch off of himself, shattering it into a million splinters. Snide was catching onto Heckyl's game. He spun around and launched his sword at Heckyl, who was unable to jump out of the way in time. The sword grazed his side causing him to fall onto one knee. Snide was about to use his vine on Heckyl when Arcanon stopped him.

"Stand down Snide. It's time to end this." Lord Arcanon approached closer and sent power from the dark energem at Heckyl.

Almost as a reflex, Heckyl retorted with an energy blast, still balancing on one knee. The two were in a standoff now. Heckyl held out on his side for a few seconds, until he took a deep breath and let go. The power from the dark energem hit him square in the chest. As soon as the power collided with the energems, they all reacted exactly how Heckyl thought they would. Ten large beams protruded from Heckyl sending a huge wave of energy out, destroying almost everything in close proximity. Lord Arcanon screamed out as the book holding the dark energem fell from his hands, and the light engulfed him. Arcanon was destroyed, and all that remained were the pieces now scattered to the ground. Heckyl could feel the life draining from his as the energems destroyed everything in sight. He was the center, almost as if they were pulling from his life force. He felt like he was suffocating, falling he closed his eyes not realizing it would be for the last time.

000000000

The rangers were all busy fighting Sledge. They had managed to take out the Greenzilla monster before it did a lot of damage, but Sledge was fighting hard, and the ranger's energy was running low. As they were fighting all the rangers could feel a sudden burst of energy. They were all connected to their energems, and now they could feel the power pulsing from them. Sledge must have known something had happened as well, because for a moment he stopped fighting.

"Heckyl must have done it. He destroyed Arcanon." Kendall looked at the others in the zord.

"That means all we have to do is finish off Sledge." Tyler got back into his fighting stance.

The rangers followed suit, and gave all of their energy in the next few moves. Sledge was caught off guard by the sudden burst in energy the rangers now had. He stumbled back a little, but pushed through. The rangers would not give up, and soon enough they hit Sledge with enough blows to destroy him. Sledge was gone. The rangers won.

"We have to get back." Tyler looked at his fellow rangers.

They all went back to Amber beach as quickly as possible. The energy pulsing off of their energems was immense, so finding them was not very hard. The rangers got out of the woods and into the clearing where the Sledge's ship was. It looked like chaos had struck the area. There was smoke and char everywhere. The rangers could not believe the sight they were seeing. The ship was burnt, the trees were burnt, and the bodies of villains lay all around them.

Each energem seemed to gravitate into each ranger's hands. They were about to survey all the damage when through the smoke they saw Snide running towards them. Now with their energems back, they rangers suited up again and ran at Snide.

"You let that fool try and destroy me!" Snide swung his sword at the Red Ranger.

Tyler tried blasting Snide, but he dodged out of the way. The rangers had just defeated a Greenzilla monster and Sledge, but right now Snide was proving to be difficult. The battle was ten to one, but Snide was fighting like a madman. He had nothing to lose. Every time they tried to get a hit in, he was already dodging the attack and fighting them. He was using his vine to keep the rangers back, and it was working. Finally the rangers all ran at Snide at once with their blasters. They pressed on until they hit him and he fell. Snide dropped his sword and landed on his knees. The monster toppled over face down to the ground.

"He's the last one right?" Chase looked around.

"I think so." Tyler de-morphed and the rangers followed suit.

"Guys, over here." Shelby had found the dark energem sitting next to Heckyl's lifeless body.

All the rangers rushed over.

"He saved us." Kendall looked at him with sad eyes.

"I knew he thought it would destroy him, but I hoped that he would be okay." Tyler felt bad for letting Heckyl do this.

"We all hoped he would make it." Ivan lowered his head.

"All because of this." Chase picked up the dark energem, it would not hurt them now.

"But he does not have to stay this way." Keeper was standing behind them. He walked up to Chase and held his hand out.

Keeper took the dark energem. "Hold out your energems over him, all of you."

The others did as they were told and held their energems over Heckyl's body. Keeper put the dark energem in Heckyl's blackened hands and placed them on his chest. He then held his staff out and shut his eyes.

"The dark energem is the balance to the other gems. The energems hold a great power, and that power may be shared with those whom have made a great sacrifice."

The rangers watched as all the energems began to glow, including the dark energem. Each beam of light began to engulf Heckyl as if energy was flowing into him. The all waited until Heckyl gasped as his life was restored. They all saw his eyes glow blue for a moment. He looked up confused; trying to understand what was going on. Kendall was the first to put a hand on him to try and calm him down.

"Hey, it's okay, you're alright now."

Heckyl caught his breath and looked at the others. "Did we win?"

Kendall smiled. "Yes, yes we won. You saved us."

Heckyl took a deep breath. "I died."

Kendall nodded. "But you're okay now."

Heckyl nodded and shut his eyes passing out.

"It will still take some time to fully heal." Keeper gave the others reassurance.

Keeper was right about that, Heckyl slept through the next two days without so much as a difference in his breathing. That worried the others. They each took turns being at a constant hover. There was no change in his condition, until finally Heckyl's eyes fluttered open and he looked around confused. For a moment he forgot everything that had happened, but when he sat up, all the memories flooded back causing his head to ache.

"Careful." Chase grabbed Heckyl as he attempted to get out of bed.

Heckyl welcomed the help and got up. "I'm okay."

Before Heckyl could gain back his bearings, he saw Keeper in front of him. "Come, we have much to talk about."

Heckyl lowered his head and followed Keeper to a secluded area of the cave. There were not many times in Heckyl's life that he felt nervous, but right now that was definitely the feeling bubbling inside of him. Heckyl had almost destroyed everything the creature had tried to protect, and now that it was over and they no longer needed his help, he had no idea what they were going to do with him.

"You have quite a responsibility now." Keeper held out the dark energem.

Heckyl reared back a little. "You're giving that to me?"

"It belongs to you, does it not?"

"Well, technically I suppose, but you aren't going to trust me with that."

"The dark energem may have been drawn to part of you, but you made a great sacrifice in destroying a greater evil." Keeper blinked, still holding out the gem.

"I'm still the same person."

"That will make the right choices. What greater way to show trust than to have something tempting in one's possession." Keeper pushed the energem a little closer to Heckyl until he took it.

Heckyl held the dark energem in his hand. He stared at it for a while, after everything that had happened because of the gem, he never expected to it to be his.

Kendall walked into the lab, when she saw Heckyl sitting down, staring at the energem.

"You seem deep in thought." She sat down next to him.

Heckyl looked up. "Yeah, just wondering if I should be trusted with this."

"Keeper gave it to you right? He must think you can handle protecting it."

"He told me not to screw it up."

Kendall smiled. "Keeper said that?"

"Well, not in so many words, but yeah basically." Heckyl laughed a little.

"Look Heckyl, we all trust you. You helped save Earth. You even died for it."

"I almost didn't." Heckyl would not meet her eyes.

"What?"

"Before, when I went to meet Arcanon, I thought about betraying all of you. Keeping all the energems and joining back up with them to rule the universe. I knew they would let me back in if I had all of them."

"Why didn't you?"

Heckyl sighed. "I remember what it felt like to have my entire planet destroyed. The pain that went along with seeing everything I cared about die. You all helped me when anyone else would have seen me destroyed. I just couldn't do that to you."

"And that is why we trust you." Kendall met his eyes.

"I've told you before, I'm not a good guy Ms. Morgan. I've never been a _hero_. The dark energem bonded to me for a reason, even though it was forced, my body didn't reject it. It sensed something in me. A darkness."

Kendall grabbed his hand. "People change. You've changed. I believe you won't use this power for evil anymore. I think you'll use it to help."

Heckyl put a hand on hers. "I hope you're right. I have a lot of work ahead of me, and I must admit the energem will help with that."

"What work?"

"You didn't think I would stay and serve burgers did you?" Heckyl shook his head. "That's not the life for me. I've done what I can here, and now it's time to try and restore my planet. That's all I ever really wanted."

Kendall took her hand away from Heckyl's, but smiled at him. "Well if you ever find yourself back here, that job is yours."

Heckyl laughed. "Thanks. I won't be gone forever. I know I'll find my way back here again."

"I hope so." Kendall gave a sheepish grin a looked down. "And who knows, you may need some help along the way."

Heckyl returned the smile. "Help…think I may take you up on that. Plus I wouldn't blame any of you to check up on me from time to time, make sure I keep my nose clean."

"You're going to be okay." Kendall smiled.

Heckyl nodded in return. They both sat there for a while longer before all the rangers made their way into the base. Heckyl was not sure what to say them, so he just told them goodbye. Most of the rangers were not surprised by his decision and they all told him goodbye and thanks.

Ivan gave him a firm medieval handshake. "I hope you find success in your quest."

Heckyl bowed his head a little and left the base, the rangers gave him a device to open a portal so he could travel to other planets, but before he left he had a stop to make. It was strange leaving on his own without worry of anyone around him. The world was saved, the rangers were not after him anymore, and there were no more villains to try and attack him. It was strange to walk the same path he had walked just a few days prior, but this time Heckyl enjoyed the trees and the air. He had no life changing decisions to make. Heckyl approached the clearing where the ship had crashed, and he was not surprised at the carnage that remained. Those energems packed quite a punch on the area. Everything was burnt and in pieces. Heckyl knew what he was looking for would still be there amongst the wreckage.

Heckyl looked around for a moment before he saw a blue glint underneath some rubble. He bent down and picked up the slightly charred and dulled sword that had belonged to Snide. It was his place of residence when Snide took over their body, and it was a reminder to what he had been through and where he came from. It felt odd to hold the sword, he had never really seen it from the outside before. Heckyl stared at the oval in the middle of the hilt. It was empty just as his pocket watch was. He took out his watch and stared at it for a moment before placing it back in his pocket right next to the dark energem. Heckyl gripped the sword and took out the device the rangers gave him. It was time to leave Earth and try and do something else good.

He needed to restore his planet somehow. He knew he had new tools to help him, and people he could now call friends that would be willing to assist if he needed it. He could not remember the last time he felt truly free, the last time he felt un-feared, the last time he felt like he had a place he could call home.

00000000

 **AN: Thank you all so much for reading! Hope everyone enjoyed the story, and keep a look out for more Power Ranger stories!**


End file.
